Bird feathers inform Bar Miller interior by Polonsky & Friends
CategoriesInterior Design

Bird feathers inform Bar Miller interior by Polonsky & Friends

New York design studio Polonsky & Friends has lined this tiny New York omakase restaurant with burl wood veneer panels, while its counters and cabinetry are coloured to resemble bird feathers.

Designed as a sister location of Rosella, an East Village sushi spot that opened in 2020, Bar Miller is located a few blocks away in Alphabet City.

Small restaurant with dark blue-green counters and burl wood wallsSmall restaurant with dark blue-green counters and burl wood walls
The compact Bar Miller space seats eight covers around a counter made from rare Avocatus stone

The owners brought back Polonsky & Friends to complete the interiors so that the two outposts could share the same “warm, welcoming energy”.

Although the menu borrows from traditional sushi craft, it’s not authentically Japanese, so the designers wanted to steer clear of any tropes that might deceive customers.

Burl wood veneer panels framed in white oak on the wallsBurl wood veneer panels framed in white oak on the walls
Burl wood veneer panels on the walls are framed in white oak, matching the building’s original floors

“The design had to incorporate local and craft-centric elements and honour the food’s Japanese inspiration, but not fall into any folklore since the team isn’t Japanese and the menu is untraditional,” studio founder Anna Polonsky told Dezeen.

The restaurant only seats eight covers, which surround the open kitchen in the centre of the compact space.

Trio of panels with hand-painted wallpaper displaying bird feathersTrio of panels with hand-painted wallpaper displaying bird feathers
Custom wallpaper hand-painted by Hollie M Kelley displays the feathers of an eastern rosella bird

Deep blue-green Avocatus stone – a rare quartzite with a leathered finish – forms the entire bar counter

A custom ceiling pendant by Madrid-based designer Pablo Bolumar is suspended above the counter like a string of pearly beads.

Blue-green counter with ceramic vase and flowers, in front of a wood-panelled wallBlue-green counter with ceramic vase and flowers, in front of a wood-panelled wall
Pieces by several local designers are featured in the restaurant, including ceramic vases by Fefostudio

On the walls, panels of burl wood veneer are framed in white oak, which matches the refinished original parquet floors.

“We were able to sand back [the flooring] after it was hidden for years in the previous restaurant,” Polonsky said.

Glossy maroon kitchen cabinetsGlossy maroon kitchen cabinets
To contrast the blue-green dining area, kitchen cabinetry is coloured maroon as another nod to the rosella bird’s feathers

A trio of panels feature a custom wallpaper drawn by artist Hollie M Kelley, displaying the feathers of an eastern rosella bird.

Kelley also drew the icon for the sister restaurant, a western rosella, which has different colours in its plumage.

The maroon hues in the wallpaper are echoed on the cabinetry behind the kitchen counter, differentiating the food preparation area from the blue-green of the dining space.

Other details include a panel of vertical wood slats for storing plates above the sink and moulded-glass scones shaped like scallop shells.

Vertical wood slats provide spaces for storing dishesVertical wood slats provide spaces for storing dishes
Vertical wood slats provide spaces for storing dishes

The bar stools were crafted by Maderas Collective in Nicaragua and upholstered by Ecua in Queens, while ceramic vases were sourced from New York-based Fefostudio.

In the bathroom, green tiles laid in a herringbone pattern cover the walls and a rice paper pendant light hand-painted by Claire Dufournier hangs from the ceiling.

Bathroom featuring dark green tiles and a hand-painted rice paper pendant lightBathroom featuring dark green tiles and a hand-painted rice paper pendant light
The bathroom features dark green tiles and a hand-painted rice paper pendant light

For those looking for more Japanese restaurants with notable interiors, New York City has plenty of options to choose from.

Check out the Rockwell Group-designed Katsuya close to Hudson Yards, Rule of Thirds by Love is Enough in Greenpoint, and Tsukimi in the East Village designed by Post Company – formerly known as Studio Tack.

The photography is by Nicole Franzen.



Reference

Sustainable Practice: The Miller Hull Partnership’s “Regenerative Porch”
CategoriesArchitecture

Sustainable Practice: The Miller Hull Partnership’s “Regenerative Porch”

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletters.

Front porch living is a staple activity in many parts of the world; this culture of chatting with passersby, catching a fresh breeze and watching over the neighborhood was long viewed as a cultural mainstay of the southern United States. In addition to contributing to more socially-oriented communities, porches were historically important design features to help inhabitants cope with warmer weather (and a signature element of the New Urbanism movement). As the advent of air conditioning revolutionized the way architects and the broader population alike responded to heat, the porch became less integral to home design; however, today, several firms are making a strong case for its revival.

Architects have a responsibility to protect the public’s health, safety and welfare. Between climate change and increasingly extreme weather conditions, this charge also encompasses more sustainable and resilient design. For the Kendeda Building in Atlanta, the team at The Miller Hull Partnership (who took home the jury accolade for Best Sustainable Firm in the 10th Annual A+Awards) set out to create a model architecture that could foster environmental education and research. The resulting building doubles as a forum for community outreach, grounding approaches to sustainability and resiliency within the campus and beyond — all hinging on a clever evolution of the “porch” concept.

Located in the heart of Atlanta, The Kendeda Building was designed to make a statement. Created for the Georgia Institute of Technology, the building’s design also became an expression of its value system. These ideas are shown on display both inside and out, from the massing to material choices like mass timber. Working with Lord Aeck Sargent, a Katerra Company (LAS), the team at Miller Hull wanted to demonstrate that rigorous design and sustainability go hand-in-hand.

The concept of The Kendeda Building is inspired by the vernacular southern porch. Taking this element and expanding it from the residential to the civic scale, the team imagined a “regenerative porch” that could create a cool microclimate on the surrounding site. The resulting structure invites visitors inside to rest, learn and to look up as they learn about the space around them. Inside, the building continues the concept of learning by example through the design itself. As the team explained, gravity and lateral elements are left exposed creating a visual register of the structural forces at work.

The Kendeda Building hosts a variety of learning spaces to welcome all students and disciplines from campus. Traditional classrooms as well as laboratory space and meeting rooms fill the building. Each space has generous daylighting, operable windows and is free of Red List chemicals. Indoor environmental quality was the primary driver in the design of these spaces to support learning. The Kendeda Building is Georgia Tech’s first timber building since its earliest load bearing masonry and timber structures from the 1880s. Climate smart mass timber was selected for its significantly smaller embodied carbon footprint, compared to concrete and steel systems.

The design of the Kendeda Building demonstrates that ‘Living Buildings’ are possible in even the most demanding climates. The Living Building Challenge is one of the world’s most rigorous performance sustainability certification standards for buildings. It was assumed Living Buildings could never be built in the hot and humid climate of the southern United States, especially Georgia, where swampy summers typically necessitate the use of high amounts of energy to keep buildings cool.

“People thought that a building like Kendeda could work in other places – California. Arizona, maybe. But certainly not Georgia,” says Shan Arora, Director of the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design.

Yet, the project achieved full Living Building Certification in 2021 after proving its net positive energy and water performance during its year-long occupancy period. At the heart of this was the “Regenerative Porch” — a structural system and PV canopy that generates more than 100% of the building’s energy demand and captures enough rainwater to meet 100% of the water used in the building. At the same time, the design blurs interior and exterior conditions while providing weather-protected outdoor classroom space. As the first Living Building of its kind in the Southeast US, the project set a new standard for design.

The Kendeda Fund provided ongoing funding to support programs in the building that engage local Atlanta communities beyond the university. The atrium, lecture hall, roof garden, and multipurpose room were all designed to be made available for community events. As the team outlined, Georgia Tech’s mission is to maximize the impact of the building by exposing as many students as possible to the project. After learning in a building expressing such a strong position on resiliency and sustainability, the hope is that they will take those values with them into the future.

Architects: Want to have your project featured? Showcase your work through Architizer and sign up for our inspirational newsletters.

Reference

Miller Hull Partnership and Woods Bagot design timber airport expansion
CategoriesSustainable News

Miller Hull Partnership and Woods Bagot design timber airport expansion

Architecture offices Miller Hull Partnership and Woods Bagot have revealed plans for an extension of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Miller Hull Partnership and Woods Bagot will work with the Port of Seattle to carry out the 145,528 square-foot (13,520-square-metre) expansion of the airport’s C Concourse.

A sculptural pillar and a grand staircase clad in locally sourced Douglas fir will be at the centre of the C Concourse Expansion. The pillar will feature carved decorative geometric shapes.

According to the architecture studios involved, the airport’s grand staircase will be the focal point of the extension, with a design that takes materials and forms of the Pacific Northwest.

Airport expansion
The project will expand Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

“The concourse’s interior will be an interplay of environments that is defined by both the local energy and a connection to the natural landscape,” explained Miller Hull and Woods Bagot.

Four additional storeys above the airport’s existing concourse will provide travellers with a range of amenities.

These additional floors will include dining and retail spaces, as well as interfaith prayer and meditation rooms, a nursing suite and a 20,000-square-foot (1,858-square-metre) lounge for Alaska Airlines.

Due to the expansion’s height,  views of the airfield and the surrounding Olympic Mountains will be expanded.

Douglas fir pillar
A staircase and pillar clad in local Douglas fir will be at the centre of the expansion

A “marketplace” modelled on the Seattle farmers’ markets will be located in the middle of the concourse. It will include a bar, various retail kiosks and an area for musicians that will face the grand staircase.

The C Concourse Expansion’s timber elements have been designed as part of Port of Seattle’s Sustainable Project Framework, which pledges to commit to more sustainable infrastructure.

The expansion will also include rooftop photovoltaic panels and electrochromic window glazing.

According to Miller Hull and Woods Bagot, the expansion will also feature fossil-fuel-free systems for heating and hot water, as well as dishwashing facilities for vendors that will intend to reduce the demand for disposal dishes and low-flow water fixtures.

The architecture firms said that embodied carbon reduction strategies and biophilic design principles will also define the expansion.

Initial construction is slated to begin this summer, with major work due to commence in mid-2023. The expansion is expected to be completed in 2027.

Miller Hull Partnership was founded in 1977 while Woods Bagot was established in 1869. The firms have individually designed many architecture projects including a net-positive building for an Atlanta university and another university building with a fluted concrete tower respectively.

The renderings are courtesy of Woods Bagot and Miller Hull Partnership.

Reference